Final Week in SF: Cirque du Soleil’s TOTEM

As it turns out, the most magical on Earth is not Disneyland. Just ask anyone who has been to a Cirque du Soleil show. Cirque’s latest touring show, Totem, is playing in San Francisco for only one more week. Catch it before it ends this Sunday, December 18.

If only the evolution of man had really looked like Cirque du Soleil’s stunning interpretation of it. Replace species-erasing ice ages, population-decimating famines, and global epidemics with glow-in-the-dark costumes, sparkle-clad acrobats, and trapeze love scenes, and you’ve got yourself a story of evolution that starts to make Creationism sound vaguely plausible.

In signature Cirque du Soleil style, Totem was filled to the brim with gravity-defying acrobatics, stunning feats of human strength, mind-bending manipulation of space and dimension, a superb live band, and cutting-edge technology, costumes, projections and set design. With the show’s premise based on the Evolution of Man, the stars of Totem represent the most evolved species on the planet, half human half superhero, bringing to fruition feats we’ve only seen accomplished in Spiderman movies.

Challenging logic and statistical rationality, a group of unicyclists kick stacks of bowls onto each other’s heads with flawless execution. Making the impossible possible, a duo of trapeze artists catch hands midair while the audience holds their breath (nothing to get you gripping your seat like an unharnessed acrobat).

Bending the rules of physics right before your eyes, men build skyscrapers out of their own bodies. Roller skates and hula hoops are put to uses beyond what their inventors could have ever conceived. And the list goes on. But language lacks the vocabulary needed to describe the jaw-dropping spectacles and stunts performed by Totem’s diverse cast of superhuman plucked from across the globe.

Totem takes a more modern spin on Cirque’s trademark French clowns, providing a Borat-like Euro-trash character to flirt with audience members, make obscene gestures, and rattle off Italian insults. Entertaining, but a bit incongruous to the proposed evolution theme. Unless, of course, he’s the missing link. But any inconsistencies didn’t seem to bother the audience.

“Beyond all the demanding physical feats of the human body and ornate costumes on display tonight, what I was floored by was the highly creative and flawlessly executed lighting displays and special effects,” said 26-year-old photographer Ashley Jordan Gordon of San Anselmo. “They were simply stunning and for me, were the most memorable part of the whole show.”

“It’s even better than Ovo,” said 14-year-old Kamin Hartwell-Herrero of Fairfax, who takes aerial silk and trapeze classes. “I want one of those jobs when I get older and I’ve been practicing.”

“It’s energizing,” said Jasmine Luogo of San Francisco. “You can lose yourself in it.”

“Makes me feel like I need to do some crunches,” joked Bay Reid of Napa.

“It’s the best Cirque I’ve ever seen,” said Sam Bertuca of Santa Cruz, who has attended Cirque shows for the past 15 years. His 23-year old son Nolan called this the “most stunning” out of the six Cirque shows he’s seen.

Once again, Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, along with Totem director Robert Lepage and an incredible team of choreographers, costume-designers, set-design engineers, and has dreamed up a feast for the eyes without the usual circus fall-backs like red-nosed clowns and animal cruelty. As with every Cirque event, this show is not to be missed.

————————–TOTEM, Cirque du Soleil
Through December 18
Under the Grand Chapiteau at AT&T ParkTickets